All Chapters of Heart of the Wolf Queen: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The moon was swollen and pale that night, hanging low enough that it seemed to press down on the earth.It was the kind of moon that should have stirred the blood of every wolf in Silvbermoon Pack. It should have made us stronger. Faster. Unified.Instead, it seemed to make them more vicious towards me.I stood in the center of the training grounds, bare feet sunk in cold mud, rain slicking my hair against my cheeks. A ring of faces stared at me, some openly sneering, others eyes carefully blank, pretending they weren't enjoying this. Not one of them looked at me with anything close to kindness.Bebta Rowan was the first to speak. "You cost us the hunt again, Selene," he said, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Three deer gone because you couldn't keep up".My jaw tightened. I kept up. I had run until my lungs burned and my legs felt like they would tear apart. But when the Alpha's daughter had tripped, I'd caught her, and that single moment saving her from snapping her neck

The first snow of the season came early. It blanketed the silvermoon teritory in white, softening the jagged lines of the forest, quieting the world. But beauty in Silvermoon was never harmless. Snow meant harder hunts, colder nights, and shorter tempers. Wolves grew hungier, meaner. And when that happened, they always looked for someone to take it out on.Someone like me.I was hauling firewood from the forest when they came for me. Three of them, Garrick's son, Malric and his two friends. They didn't need a reason. they never did."Carrying wood for the fires?" Malric'c voice was dripping with mockery. "How generous. Almost like you're a real pack member".I didn't answer. My arms were full, the rough bark biting into my skin through the thin fabric of my sleeves. The cold made my breath curl in the air. I kept walking.One of the others stepped in front of me. "Where's your manners, curse-born? don't ignore your betters". I shifted my weight, trying to step around him. The third

The cold had teeth that winter.It bit through my cloak, through my skin, through my bones until I felt hollow inside. The Silvermoon camp lay shrouded beneath a heavy quilt of snow, every hut half-buried, every path a jagged trail of ice and slush. Smoke trickled lazily from chimneys, the only warmth in a world that had forgotten the sun.Two weeks had passed since the Shadowfang delegation left. Two weeks of silence, then whispers, then sharpened cruelty. The pack had been restless ever since their departure. Tension clung to every word spoken, every order given. I had become their favorite outlet the stray they could cut down without fear of consequence.That morning, I tried to keep my head low. I moved quietly, hoping to finish my chores before anyone thought to notice me. But luck had never been mine to claim.“Selene!”The bark of my name froze me in place. I turned slowly to see Malric, the Beta’s favored son, standing in the training yard. His breath steamed in the frosted ai

The next morning, the camp was restless.Silvermoon wolves had never liked guests. They liked Shadowfang wolves even less. But Damien wasn’t just any Shadowfang  he was their Alpha. His presence hung over the camp like a storm cloud. Conversations broke off when he passed. Eyes tracked him warily from doorways. Even the air itself felt charged, as though the snow might crack and shatter beneath the weight of him.For me, that weight pressed hardest when Garrick called my name.“Selene!” His voice boomed across the yard, sharp as a lash. “To the hall.”My stomach tightened. I set down the bucket I’d been carrying and brushed the snow from my hands before heading toward the main hall.The hall was warm, almost stifling after the bite of winter air. A great fire roared in the hearth, its flames crackling over thick logs. Smoke curled lazily toward the high rafters, mingling with the scent of roasted venison and old wood. The walls were lined with

 The ridge loomed like a jagged scar against the pale morning sky. Its silhouette tore across the horizon, sharp and merciless, as though the earth itself had been clawed open. The wind was relentless, rushing down from the peaks in icy bursts that rattled the trees below and bit at any strip of exposed skin.I had been near this place before, but never this high. Never at this hour, when the sun was still dragging itself out from behind the horizon and the shadows stretched long across the snow.Damien was already waiting. He stood on a rocky outcrop, dark and still against the white world around him, the wind tugging strands of his hair loose. His coat, long and black, rippled like a banner behind him. He didn’t look cold. He looked carved from the mountain itself.“You’re late,” he said. His voice carried easily despite the storm’s edge in the air.“It’s still dawn,” I answered, my breath visible in the chill, each word a puff of vapor.